Sen's Fortress

First things first - you're going to need to know exactly where Sen's Fortress actually is. Chances are you've been there before, but were thwarted by the large gates barring entry.

These large gates are created just across a bridge next to the Bonfire in the Undead Parish. Now that you've rung both Bells of Awakening the gates will have opened, giving you entry into Sen's Fortress.

Cross the bridge whenever you're ready and go up the stairs. Beware as you pass through the gate - there's a pressure pad on the floor that'll activate, sending three damaging arrows headed straight for you.

In this entrance foyer are also two new enemies - Serpent Soldiers. To fight these guys you'll have to use quick hits and time your attacks well. If possible, try to go for backstabs. For ease of use you can even try luring them outside one by one.

If you're clever and time it right, you can use the pressure pad and the arrows to do significant damage to one Serpent. The trap only works once though, unfortunately.

When they're both dead, search the corpse in the far right of the room for a Soul of a Brave Warrior. When that's done, head through the narrow doorway between two armor suits, up the stairs and you'll emerge out onto a ledge overlooking an exceptionally narrow ledge which has swinging pendulums on it.

Yep, those things will knock you off, and yes, this does hurt quite a bit. If you do fall off, you might not die, but you'll end up in an area where there are dangerous Titanite Demons (the mini-boss you fought earlier in Undead Parish) to fight.

The floor also counts as being deep water, so equip the Rusted Iron Ring in order to move quicker.

There are also three Serpent Mages down here, as well as a sword-wielding Serpent who will eventually jump down to engage you. The mages will attack with lightning spells from afar. If you fall down, don't stray towards the back and kill the first Titanite Demon before you get near to the Serpents.

Jumping down from the ledge will also lead you to two items; a Soul of a Brave Warrior and the weapon Scythe. To get to these you'll need to head right to the back of the area, where you'll have to fight another Titanite Demon.

There are two more Titanite Demons to fight in an area off to the side as well. Kill them if you wish.

When you're done, head back to the corner nearest the entrance to find a ladder. Climb it and you'll find a corpse with a Large Soul of a Proud Knight waiting to be nabbed. From here you can drop back down to the entrance, but don't do that yet.

Instead, hit the wall straight ahead. It'll disappear and reveal a hidden ladder. Up here is a new enemy - the Giant. He's relatively easy to fight but has a lot of HP - just watch out for his crazed frenzy attack and block/dodge where appropriate. Once he's gone a bit crazy for a bit he'll get very tired and be wide open to attack for ages, so wail on him with your weapons. Once he's dead he'll drop a Titanite Chunk.

Funnily enough this is the giant you saw in a clip earlier opening the gates to Sen's Fortress. This is the thanks he gets! When he's dead, there's nothing else worth getting up here so head back down and return to the entrance.

Look over across the narrow bridge. See a Serpent in the distance? If you shoot him with an arrow, he'll become enraged, and charge at you across the bridge. If things go right he'll then be promptly whacked by a pendulum and fall down off the ledge. There's also a mage on the ledge above to the right you can snipe if you're a ranged character.

If not, you're going to have to be daring. Move carefully past the first two pendulums, timing your run in between swings. Pause between each pendulum - it isn't worth risking being hit. After the first two pendulums you should sprint through the final two. Keep moving across the bridge and you'll eventually draw the attention of the Serpent. You now have a choice - either sprint back across the bridge, dodging the pendulums, or instead fight on the bridge.

Whatever you do, move that Serpent out of the way and head over to the other side of the bridge. There's one final pendulum to dodge before you get there, and watch out for the lightning attacks of the Serpent Mage if you haven't killed him.

From here, head left, up the stairs and do another narrow bridge. If you haven't killed the Mage, he'll now be directly in front of you shooting lightning. Problem is that this bridge also has swinging pendulums, making this even more tricky. The best way to do it is basically wait for the pendulums to swing away, then sprint through them two of them, pause briefly and run again, then hit your best attacks on the Mage.

Beware - the entranceway to the room across the bridge holds another deadly arrow trap. This can also be used to kill the mage.

In this room is a chest - loot it for Large Titanite Shard x2. Once that's done, head into the next room. Below to the right you'll see another Serpent sleeping - you can either drop down for a fight or just leave him be for now. Another Serpent may also charge through the doorway ahead of you, so deal with him first.

Be incredibly cautious as you venture into the next area. Every few seconds a giant boulder will roll down the path, and if it hits you, that's a lot of damage.

The first way you should go out of the door is right, so wait for the boulder to pass, then sprint down, following it as it goes. You want to veer off to the left to drop off the walkway eventually, and when you do, head in the opposite direction to find a bizarrely-dressed man sitting on the side of a pit.

This is Siegmeyer of Catarina, a hapless adventurer who will now routinely pop up in your quest over the remainder of the game. He doesn't do much right now, but all will become apparent later.

From Siegmeyer, sprint back up the path and into the doorway where you entered. If you've done it right you should avoid the boulder with ease. Ok, now deep breath - you're going to have to run upwards this time. Time your run, sprint up the first set of stairs and enter the alcove on the left. You should make it easily.

Once you're there wait for the next boulder to come by then sprint up the path to where you're being attacked by another Mage - put him down and enter the room he's guarding. In this room there's a chest with a Ring of Steel Protection in it.

Outside on the stairs you can also drop off to the left to find a narrow ledge with a corpse that holds the weapon Shotel.

Once you've grabbed that, head back down the path (being careful not to be squashed), then go into the alcove and through the White Light Gate. In this room is another narrow alcove - squeeze into it and beware the pressure pad in the middle which will shoot arrows from behind. Another Serpent will also try to charge you through here, so lure him back into the other room. Once he's dead, go through the alcove, across the other room and stop at the exit if you don't want to be squashed by yet another boulder.

Now the main path you need to take here is technically down and to the left, but with a bit of luck (and some damage) you can survive the boulder and head right instead for some extra goodies.

To do this, wait for the boulder to pass, then sprint as fast as your legs will take you all the way to the stop of the stairs. At this point - block, and make sure you've got full health. The boulder will probably hurt you a lot, but you should survive and can now sprint around the corner and out of the way of the boulder.

What is the mysterious contraption in this room? Basically it's a device that determines the path of the boulder, and you, my friends, get to choose where it goes by pushing the large lever.

The path you want the boulder to go on at the moment is straight down, as this will open a previously inaccessible path. Move the lever around so that it points in the direction down the ramp, then wait for the boulder to launch a few times. When it does, follow it down to the left and return to where the Serpent was lounging on a wall.

The wall (and Serpent) will now be destroyed by the boulder. You'll want to go back up and readjust the mechanism again before you head there though as you'll be flattened by a boulder if you don't. Beware though - the mechanism may suddenly reset.

When the boulder is gone head into the new area where several cages hang from the walls. If you have the Master Key you'll be able to open them - if not, you'll have to find a key later on in Sen's Fortress. The item in the furthest cage is a Soul of a Hero.

In another cage is the sorcerer, Big Hat Logan. Freeing Logan will allow him to return to Firelink Shrine, where he'll sell powerful spells.

Once that's done, head back up the area where you ran up to the boulder mechanism. This time, run up to the right again, but this time, look for an area to the left where you can drop down. You'll land on a small wooden ledge with a resident corpse and Serpent Mage, so kill the latter, then loot the decomposing gentleman for a Large Soul of a Proud Knight.

From here, head through the right hand doorway and follow it around to find another corpse who holds the Black Sorcerer Armor Set: Black Sorcerer Hat, Black Sorcerer Cloak, Black Sorcerer Gauntlets, and Black Sorcerer Boots. Pressing ok again will also net you the Sorcery: Hush.

Heading left at this point will take you through a drop, and you'll end up on top of the area where you started in Sen's Fortress. There's a Serpent in the distance, but he should fall off the edge of the narrow walkways as he tries to charge you.

Navigate around these platforms to find a corpse nearby that holds a Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring.

From here you can either drop down to the narrow bridge below and make your way back to the boulder room, or alternatively drop all the way down to where the Titanite Demons are.

Regardless of which route you've taken, head back to the boulder room. Ok, this time, you're going to run all the way to the bottom of this room with no distractions.

The best way to do so is wait for the boulder to rush past, sprint as fast as you can, drop from the ledge on the left, sprint again and duck into the alcove on the left.

Before you enter the room there's an item that's easily missable, but well worth getting. To get it, you'll have to perform a little trick with the boulders. Wait at the alcove for at least six boulders to go past - they should all fall down the hole, stacking one on top of the other. When there's six there, a further boulder will come down and smash the wall, revealing a hidden area.

It might be a good idea at this point to head up the boulder machine and redirect them before you go through. Once that's done, head through to find the item Covetous Gold Serpent Ring. This item increases your item discovery rate dramatically when equipped.

Afterwards head back to the nearby room.

In this room there's a conveniently placed, highly tempting chest. Go up to it, reach forwards and....WAIT...don't open it! This chest is really a creature known as a Mimic, an evil chest-monster that will try to eat you should you open it up.

Instead you should give it a whack with your weapon of choice and keep attacking it as it reveals itself. In its real form the monster has extremely long legs and a large tongue and mouth. It'll attack with its arms, its legs and you should also watch out for its devastating 'hug' attack which will sap your health.

EDIT: You can tell a Mimic by the chain on the chest. If the chain is curved to the side, it is safe. If it is curved straight out in front of the chest; it is a Mimic

Upon death the Mimic relinquishes the items it held - in this case it'll drop the highly desirable Lightning Spear, one of the best overall weapons in the entire game (at least on your first playthrough).

There's a strange elevator covered in blood in the corner of the room - hop onto this and let it take you up ONE level. If you don't hop off at this point it'll take you up further, and you don't want to be doing that if you like being alive.

From this level, head up through the gate, down to the right and down the stairs. You want to head straight up the ramp and you'll now be at the boulder machine from earlier.

Instead of bothering with the machine this time head for an alcove on the left with some stairs leading upwards. In here is another pressure pad, so step carefully onto it and don't move to activate four arrow traps on the walls.

There's nothing of interest in the next room, so keep moving. You'll emerge out onto another narrow ledge with more swinging pendulums, so time your run carefully and make your way to the other side. Once there, turn immediately to the right to spot a Serpent Soldier who was probably about to charge you. Kill him. There's also a Serpent Mage to the left, but he won't be a danger until you get near.

DO NOT drop down the hole behind the Serpent Soldier. It leads to nothing in particular.

Instead, go left, and head past the stairs with the mage at the top (kill him if you want). Follow the path around the corner to find another Serpent Soldier and a corpse. Kill the Serpent, then search the corpse for Large Titanite Shard x2.

Now head up the stairs and round to find the narrowest walkway you've seen yet and more pendulums to deal with. There's also a very nastily placed Serpent Mage lingering on a platform to the left, so snipe him if you can before proceeding. If you can't, you're just going to have to run for it.

If you haven't killed him and you make it to the other side, head around to the left, blocking as you go to deflect another arrow trap. Now run around and kill the Serpent Mage (why not give him a swift kick and watch him fall to his death?).

From here, go right and up the stairs, then through the White Light Gate.

As soon as you come through the door you'll spot a Giant directly ahead of you. This big dude will then start chucking massive flaming boulders at you, so keep moving by heading around to the left.

You'll ascend a stairwell, so keep moving, go up another staircase and emerge onto a clearing. This area contains a section of the wall that's destroyed (see image below) so walk up to this and look down to spot the Sen's Fortress bonfire. Leap off (you'll take minor damage) and take your much-needed rest.

From the bonfire head through the corridor and drop out of the window onto the stairs and head back to the Giant area.

This time head right, down a small set of stairs and towards another set. A Balder Knight (which you fought in Undead Parish) should come up the stairs at this point. Stab him in the face.

Go down the stairs and follow the path to the right. There's another Balder Knight hiding around the corner, so kill him too. Now there's a chest ahead - don't worry, this one isn't a Mimic. As a side note its a good idea to test chests in future just in case they are Mimics by giving them a good old hit. The chest contains the item Flame Stoneplate Ring.

From here, head up the area where you can drop to the bonfire and loot the corpse for a Soul of a Brave Warrior. You should then ascend the nearby stairs to find Large Titanite Shards x2.

From here, go straight down the path to find a rare enemy: a Berenike Knight. You first fought one of these in the Undead Parish, so use the same tactics as before. When he's dead, follow the path to find a ladder. Get climbing down those rungs!

Cross the bridge and ascend the stairs and you'll be attacked by an NPC human known as Undead Prince Ricard. He's easy as peas to beat and upon death he'll drop his sword: Ricard's Rapier. From here go up further to find two more normal chests you can loot. They contain 1 of the rare healing item Divine Blessing and a Rare Ring of Sacrifice.

Head back to the bonfire area and this time head right along the pathway, dodging the giant flaming explosive boulders of doom smashing into your head from above. Now is the time to get some revenge on one of the giants - namely the one who was dropping boulders onto the boulder machine.

To do this, sprint headlong across the bridge and at the last possible second do a super leap from the bridge down to the area where the giant is. You can then kill him and his troublesome boulders shall trouble you no more.

The hole in the center of this area will drop you off ages ago at the boulder mechanism room, so make your way back up. If you don't feel like going through all that you can also use a Homeward Bone (if you have one), but note, this giant does respawn.

At this area with the giant there's also an easily missable item directly below the bridge - to get this, don't do a super leap and instead drop straight down. You'll take around two thirds of your health bar worth of damage, so make sure you're topped up.

When you land, search the corpse for a Sniper Crossbow and Sniper Bolts x12.

Drop down and make your way back up to the bridge (you may have to fight a Balder Knight on the way if you've rested at the bonfire).

Your next step should be able to run left along the bridge and hop over the gap. Be careful - mistiming this will lead to a nasty fall. If you make it, head into the nearby building and talk to the man inside. This guy is the Crestfallen Merchant. He sells various kinds of shards used for weapon ascension. He's also got some good armor, weapons and rings in stock, so be sure to have a browse.

From here head all the way down the tower to find a narrow bridge with a corpse guarded by a Serpent Mage. Kill the spellcaster then search the corpse for the Cage Key. This item can be used to free Big Hat Logan who was mentioned earlier. Don't backtrack there just yet though, as there's an easier way to do so coming up shortly.

Instead, head back up the tower, across the bridge and go the opposite way. At the end of the bridge there's a Balder Knight to the left. There's nothing else that way, so kill the Knight then go right.

You'll emerge into a tower. See the two cages in front of you? You can use your new cage key to open them up, and when you step inside the cages will act as an elevator and take you to the bottom of the Fortress! See, told you there's an easy way to get to Big Hat Logan.

When you've done all that, head out, up the stairs and navigate the narrow bridges. You should be a pro at this by now. As you move around you'll be shot at by an archer, so move around quickly and kill him (he's ridiculously weak).

Head inside the tower and everything'll start shaking. That's our giant with the penchant for flaming boulder-lobbing stomping about, so let's go deal with him. To do so, head up the stairs to emerge onto the roof of the tower. This area is somewhat confined so he's a bit trickier than the other giants, but shouldn't pose a problem. He'll drop a Titanite Chunk when he's dead.

Go back down and prepare for Sen's Fortress' boss, the Iron Golem. If you're human at this point you can move to the building on the right across the bridge to summon help from an NPC phantom, Black Iron Tarkus.

The Golem is slow but powerful, so he should be dealt with using extreme caution. Stay directly behind him as close as you can and deliver as many powerful attacks to his legs as possible. If you can injure one appendage quickly enough, he'll fall down and be open for a massive amount of damage.

Easy Kill: If you lead the Iron Golem out onto the bridge on the other side of the arena, or meet it there before it makes its way to the center, damaging one of it's legs enough will cause it to fall backwards and tumble off the narrow bridge. This will net you a incredibly easy kill after only a quarter or so of the health gauge is knocked off. I recommend a sword or an Axe as your choice weapon. The Drake Sword is rather effective for this.

NOTE: While this method can be quick and relatively painless, the Golem has a tendency to push your character around quite a bit and can very easily knock you off the same bridge.

If magic is your forte, keep your distance behind the Golem and hit him with your most powerful spells. The Great Heavy Soul arrow combined with a high Intelligence level will cause a huge amount of damage with every hit.

Once the Golem has fallen, walk up to the glowing ring at the center of the platform to initiate a transport to the high palace of Anor Londo.